Introduction to Politics, Policy, and Political Dissent

That a political action ignites a protest reaction is by no means a new phenomenon. Protest reactions to policy, as demonstrated throughout this volume, are an inextricable part of free and modern politics. This chapter begins with the Sugar Act, one of the policies that brewed colonial displeasure with British rule, eventually fueling the American Revolution. What began as political protest led to demands for sovereignty and eventually revolution. While not all political protest takes this extreme trajectory, political protest has been both catalyst and symptom of political transformation.

Political protest is both individual and social; personal and public. Whether a mass movement, a collective political consciousness trying to reform or reshape government and society, or an individual fight for basic political rights, political protest leaves an indelible mark on modern history. New political theories forged in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries fed protest movements. In consistent tension with fading absolutism and grand empires, political dissidents, revolutionaries, radicals and insurgents embraced democracy, anarchy, socialism, and communism.

"A Chartist Appeal to Lay Down Arms" begins this chapter's discussion of political reform through popular protest. The political saga of twentieth century Russia receives considerable attention here, from the protests that crumbled its monarchy to the decades of Soviet rule that in turn quelled political dissent. From the early years of Bolshivism, when communism itself was a radical protest of Western economics, to the fall of the Berlin Wall, to the protests that swept the region in the last months before the fall of the Soviet Union, it is a story of the inseparability of policy and protest even when political conscience is most restricted. Also featured is Iran, both at the dawn of the Islamic republic to expatriates abstaining from the 2005 elections in protest of Islamist rule.

Two examples of contentious policy that sparked protest both in the halls of government and in the public square are included here to illustrate the inevitable protest reaction to ever-shifting government policies. "Greenpeace Activists Protest the GOP Policy Agenda 'Contract With America'" discusses public opposition to a new wave of conservative policies in the United States in the mid-1990s, while "Britain's Labour Party Debate The Abandonment of Clause IV" presents the debate within parliament over whether to continue pro-nationalization policies or opt for increased privatization of certain industries in Britain.

The symbols of political protest should not escape the reader's notice. Some images of political oppression and protest included here have defined political protest for generations. The shocking reemergence of Nazi symbols—outlawed across much of Europe—in the protests of racist extremist political groups sharply contrasts images of reunited Berliners tearing down the Berlin Wall. During the Tiananmen Square Protests of June 1989, one man symbolized an entire movement. The anonymous protester halted a line of tanks and captured the attention of the world.